The Fantastic Four Finds Its Dr. Doom

Over the past few weeks, the folks behind the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot have been working hard to pick an actor to play the film's central villain. Trade sources reported that the studio and filmmakers had narrowed down the casting process to just four actors, all with impressive backgrounds and skills. After a lot of negotiation and talks, it now appears that they have found their man. Variety is saying that Toby Kebbell has now entered official talks to play the legendary comic book antagonist Dr. Doom.

In going after the part, Kebbell had some pretty stiff competition. Other actors who were strongly considered for the part included Jack Huston, Sam Riley, Eddie Redmayne, and Domhnall Gleeson. While Kebbell hasn't signed on the dotted line just yet, when he does he will be joining a cast that already includes Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Kate Mara (Invisible Woman), Michael B. Jordan (The Human Torch) and Jamie Bell (The Thing). It has been said that the reboot, which is being directed by Chronicle's Josh Trank, will be strongly influenced by Marvel Comics' Ultimate run of the Fantastic Four, which put the team in a more modern context.

Dr. Doom - full name Victor von Doom - has been squaring off against the Fantastic Four ever since the early 1960s when he was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and is considered by most to be one of the greatest comic book villains of all time. We're not entirely sure how the character will be brought to life in this new film, but we have to hope that the interpretation will be a hell of a lot better than the Julian McMahon version from 2005's Fantastic Four and its sequel.

Kebbell isn't a big name star, but that will probably change a lot over the next few years. While he has been a part of big blockbusters before, previously making movies like Wrath of the Titans and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, coming up he has both Matt Reeves' Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Duncan Jones' Warcraft. Basically, if playing Dr. Doom doesn't make him a household name then he has two other go-to options.

What do you think of this casting? Do you think that Toby Kebbell is a good pick, or would you have rather seen the role go to somebody else? Answer our poll and tell us what you think in the comments section below.